Legal Grounds for Attributing Criminal Liability to Banks

The criminal liability of legal persons occupies a central position in systems of legal responsibility across many jurisdictions, including Algeria, which in 2004 recognized the criminal liability of banks. This development reflects the economic and financial role performed by banking institutions and seeks to ensure compliance with the legal rules governing banking activity and the protection of customers, particularly where banking operations may give rise to conduct that, once its constituent elements are established, amounts to economic crime of a seriousness exceeding that of conventional offences committed by individuals. Against this background, this article examines the legal foundations and rules governing the criminal liability attributed to banks by the Algerian legislature.